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Champion Older Turf Horse

OTTO HAACK

5yo Horse - Seeking The Gold x Nijinsky II x Storm Bird

OWNER/TRAINER – Ohaack (Otto Haack)

RECORD: 2009: 10 / 5-3-1
LIFETIME EARNINGS: $2,067,922

2009 Stakes:

WON: The Sourball Mile (G1), The Woody Ford (G1), The Bernie Baruch (G2), The Jabba The Hut (G2), The Cup Of Life (G3)

2ND: Breeders' Bowl Mile (G1), Eddie O Cap (G1), The Rain Joe Memorial

3RD: Sander's Stakes (G3)

 

Otto Haack Joins Elite Company as Turf Champ

By- Shagfarms

If you were to ask yourself which division would be the toughest to win a Sim Eclipse Award in, you would be hard-pressed to come up with any answer other than the Turf Horse division. Prior to 2006, the award was given to the top turf horse in the game.   Since then, it has been limited to older horses only, but that has not diminished the quality of the award.   A quick look at the stats provides a telling tale. 8 different horses have won the award in the 10 previous years. Those 8 horses, which include Enough Knock (1999) and School Kris(GB) (2000), have combined for 182 wins.  Joe Cayenne (2001 & 2002) and Allied Assault (2003), along with the other 6, managed to take home 112 Graded Stakes wins (61.5% of their total wins).  Sunnybank Memorial (2004) and Horseshoe Bay (2005 & 2006) contributed to the group's 86 Grade 1 wins. And with Lex Luthor (2007) and Basketball Jones(KY) (2008) still on the track, those numbers are only going to increase. But that's not all. Of these 8, 5 have gone on to win Sim Horse of the Year. Enough Knock, Allied Assault, and Horseshoe Bay helped their trainers go on to take down 4 Sim Trainer of the Year awards. And most telling of all is this stat: Of the 6 retired winners of the Sim Turf Horse of the Year award, all 6 are now members of the Sim Hall of Fame. This does not even include those who were unable to win the Sim Eclipse Award in the division, such as Seeking Sal (2009 inductee), Volotile Nijinsky (2009 inductee) Rain God (2007 inductee), Bristol Rovers (2007 inductee), Saddle Dedicate (2006 inductee), and Huge Tale (2005 inductee).  When half of the Hall of Fame competed in this one division, you know you're looking at the cream of the crop.

Based on history, it would seem that this year's Sim Older Turf Horse of the Year would be destined for future sim greatness as well. And there was no shortage of contenders this year, with four very fitting horses making the ballot. The question is, who did the voters go for?   Two horses, oahaack's Otto Haack(KY) and fairhaven5's The Calling(ENG) specialized at the shorter 8-9f distances, while the other two, desperado3's Proud Souls(KY) and babalana's Smiling Assassin(KY), spent their year at the classic 12f distance. The nominees had a mix of merits, ranging from Breeders Bowl (The Calling(ENG)) and DPCD (Smiling Assassin(KY)) to 6 race winning streaks (Proud Souls(KY)) and 5 race records (Otto Haack(KY)). But when it came time to vote, the voters made up their mind of what they were looking for. They were looking for consistency, and even more, they were looking for speed.   One of these horses had an explosive turn of foot that could rival any that the sim has ever seen.  And because of that, the 2009 Sim Older Turf Horse of the Year is...

Otto Haack.

Otto Haack was first raced for the oahaack stable back in 2007 as a 3yo, making him a 5yo in 2009. The son of a Seeking The Gold x Nijinsky II x Storm Bird scratch breeding, it wasn't until the tail end of 2008 that the trainer discovered the horse's affinity for turf. He carried a 2 race win streak into 2009, and began the year in his first career Stakes effort, a 9f turf race in Wisconsin called The Rain Joe Memorial . The oddsmaker installed him as a 13/1 longshot, thinking that the first time stakes runner wouldn't be able to keep up with G1 winner Redsadky. Even the jockeys did not think he would be able to keep up, as G. Cooper, with an 8% win rate, was the only one willing to ride the horse. And when the gates opened, it seemed even more like all the critics were correct. Otto Haack took his usual slow stroll out of the gate, immediately dropping 10 lengths back and falling to as many as 15 in the backstretch. But after the jockey Cooper asked, Otto Haack immediately responded. He began to pass several horses with every stride. Soon, he was bearing down on the leaders. Unfortunately, G. Cooper had waited a touch too long with the pace set up that day, and Otto Haack ran out of time, finishing 1-3/4 lengths behind Maverick's Cat(KY). But the race was more than enough for oahaack to take his horse to Graded Company, and he shipped Otto over to Dubai for the G2 Jabba The Hut .

Otto Haack used the Dubai G2 as his Sim Coming-Out Party. Up against a field of 11, Otto Haack was installed as the 8/1 7 th choice, and drew another shaky jockey in 7% Win% A. Witter. But on this day, a sumo wrestler could have led Otto to victory.  Once again, when the gates opened, Otto Haack didn't shoot out.  He fell 10 lengths back before the first call, and 15-1/2 in the backstretch. That's when A. Witter turned on the jets, and Otto Haack took off like a rocket.   He stormed back into the race and even though he was 9 lengths back at the top of the stretch, the powerful stride of the massive brown horse moved him up 10 lengths, taking the race by 1. The clock was stopped at 1:46-3/5, which not only set the stakes record in its first running, but set the Dubai track record as well.

Otto Haack had arrived.

Trying a mile on turf for the first time, oahaack sent his Graded Winner to France for the G3 Blank Eddie. With the respect he deserved, the oddsmakers set him up as the 7/1 3 rd choice of the 12 horse field. Unfortunately, he had not harnessed his ability to move sooner just yet. He eventually ran out of time after falling about 15 lengths behind, and in the one blemish on his 2009 record, he finished 5th . This was a sign for oahaack though, who decided to instruct his jockeys to ride his horse a little closer to the pace.

Otto Haack was shipped to Kentucky to race on the Bluegrass Derby undercard in the G1 Woody Ford , over the 9f turf course. Sent off at 9/2 as the 3 rd choice of 9, oahaack managed to secure himself, O. A. Haack, to ride. One of the top jockeys in the sim, with a 23% win% at Kentucky, It was a sign that Otto Haack the horse would fare well. Of course, the trainer knew how to properly ride his horse, and with the closer trip in mind, managed to get Otto out of the gate a little quicker. He settled in 7th , but only fell 8 lengths behind before starting his move. And move he did. He was 6th at the top of the stretch, 4-1/2 behind, and within 10 strides he had taken the lead. Otto Haack went on to win by 2-1/4, earning a stakes record in the process (although this was the first year of the race).  

The 5yo horse followed up the win by boarding a plane to Japan for the 9f G3 Cup of Life, but oahaack wasn't done testing his horse's running style. Securing the services of leading Japanese jockey K. Ledwith (an insane 29% win, 63% ITM), oahaack told his jockey to use the whip out of the gate against the 14 horse field. While an odd choice, it was a test that many bettors, who accused Otto Haack of being a one-run horse, were curious to see. As the gates opened, Ledwith followed his instructions to a tee, going to the whip to get Otto Haack out of the gate quickly. And quickly he went. Although he didn't have enough to tackle the pure speed of Spirit Rising(KY), he did manage to stay within 1 length of the leader and grab an inside position.  Staying with Spirit Rising, Otto Haack got a little nudge at the ¾ pole, went for the lead, and never looked back. The whip may have come out early, but it wasn't needed again, as Otto Haack was hand-ridden to a widening 1-3/4 length victory and a 1:46-4/5 time, only a fraction behind his Dubai record time. But if the public thought they saw a fast horse that day, the best was yet to come.

Whether it was the use of the whip or the return trip from Japan, Otto Haack returned to California in less than peak condition. So oahaack opted to give his prized 5yo an extra couple of weeks to recover, targeting the G1 Eddie O Cap at the end of July. F. Gossett, California's leading jockey, signed on for the ride, but due to Otto Haack's condition after the last race, it was determined to let him settle back a little.  With no real speed in the race, Gossett decided to keep Otto Haack a bit closer than he normally prefers, and although he was the trailer of the 8 going into the backstretch, he was only 8 lengths behind pace-setter Looney Tunes(JPN). As they reached the far turn, Gossett urged Otto Haack to run, but the response was a little slower than normal. Sure enough, by his power, Otto Haack nearly caught the leader as they crossed the finish line, finishing ¼ length behind Minesweeping Cat(KY) to finish 2nd .

Oahaack let his horse rest in the California sunshine for a week before shipping him to Upper New York, and the rest did him well. Soon Otto Haack was back to a hefty meal of hay, oats, and occasional junk food that fans of the horse slipped him.  And it was just in time for oahaack to enter Otto in the G2 Bernie Baruch , a 9f race on August 29. The 28 th saw a monster rain storm hit NY, and left the turf course feeling like mush.  It also left a mere 8 horses to contest the race. Rather than messing with success with an unknown variant like Yielding turf, oahaack made the decision to let Otto return to his normal closing style. With leading jockey Z Ayya aboard, Otto Haack did just that, barely leaving the gate and dropping 8 back before the first turn. The one benefit was that Otto was so far back, mud did not strike his face, and he was unfazed by his competitors. Instead, as they hit the far turn, Ayya guided his mount to the outside and unleashed a kick that even the mud couldn't prevent. In one blink, Otto Haack had gone from 3 lengths behind to 1 length in front. He pulled off to win by 2 in 1:46-4/5, not only setting the stakes record, but also setting the Track Record at 9f on turf.   The fact that it was yielding didn't seem to make a difference. And as everyone would soon learn, that only slowed him down.

Due to the track condition, Otto Haack did come back with a couple of small nicks on his legs, so oahaack let him rest for 2 weeks in NY before jumping in a van for Eastern Kentucky. But this turned out to be a great idea, as his next race was likely the one that sealed his Eclipse Award.

Unfortunately, Eastern Kentucky did not have a suitable 9f Graded Stakes at the right time, so oahaack was forced to make a decision. Showing his fearlessness, he entered Otto Haack in the G1 Sourball Mile. This race, however, was being run at 1 mile, the distance that Otto Haack failed at earlier in the season. In addition, the race featured Sim Eclipse Award nominee The Calling(ENG), who is an 8f specialist and was coming off of 2 wins in his previous 3 races. The first sign that this was the right choice, however, came when jockey J. Caves, the top jockey in Eastern Kentucky, chose to ride Otto over The Calling. The second sign was that Otto Haack was training better than ever. And the third sign was an advertisement in the Kentucky area that featured the horse, causing 50,000 people that showed up for the race, most of whom coming to watch him.

Although it had rained the previous day, the turf was firm by the time the 7 horses loaded into the gate.   Set with instructions of "let the horse do what he wants", J Caves was content with not pushing Otto Haack. As the gates opened, Otto Haack chose his patented slow-out-of-the-gate style. But something was different this time. Anyone in the crowd could see something in the horse's eye.  He was ready to run. And not just run.   He was ready to dominate.

Otto Haack took his time in the race, quickly falling 9 lengths back in the first turn, and continuing to fall back in the backstretch. He fell as far back as 13 lengths before slowly picking up speed into the far turn.  Jockey J. Caves gave a small pat on the back and moved his horse outside. They approached the top of the stretch with Otto still 9 lengths back, in 5th. That's when Caves tapped Otto with the whip.

The crowd fell silent.

Otto Haack unleashed the most powerful kick the Sim has ever seen, Otto Haack made a dash for the lead. 6 lengths. 5 lengths. He started off by passing horses who looked like they were tiring. 4 lengths. 3 lengths. He began to pass closing horses with each stride. 2 lengths. 1 length. With one step, he was neck-and-neck with leader Mortys Clantati(KY).   With one more, he was ½ length in front. As he crossed the wire, 1 length in front, the crowd looked on silently, stunned by what they just saw. Time just seemed to stop.

1:32-4/5

The crowd began to look up at the video board.

1:32-4/5: Stakes record

The crowd began to applaud what had just been accomplished.

1:32-4/5: Stakes Record, Track Record

The crowd got louder as they realized what they had just witnessed. But it didn't sink in until the video board flashed one more time.

1:32-4/5: Stakes Record, Track Record, Sim Record .

With that, the crowd let out a roar that made some living in the neighborhood believe that a tornado was on the way. The crowd of 50,000 had witnessed something that no horse in the sim had ever done.  The time of 1:32-4/5 had only been run once, on DelPenn Champions Day in 2007, when Tempest did it in winning the Delaware Mile.   But that race was on dirt.   Never before had this been done on the turf.

The great miler Huge Tale never accomplished this. Neither did Enough Knock.  Nor did School Kris(GB). Even the amazing Storm Dog never pulled off such a feat.

With that win, Otto Haack put himself in the minds of all people in the sim. He cemented his place in Sim History. And he locked up his Sim Eclipse Award for Older Turf Horse in 2009.

Of course, Otto's season was not done, and I would be hard-pressed to not mention his final two races. His next race was the Breeders Bowl Mile, once again facing off against The Calling(ENG). This time, though, The Calling would get his revenge. With trainer oahaack also acting as jockey in this race, Otto took his typical route, falling 10 lengths behind and sitting 13 th of the 14 in the race in the backstretch. He began his move at the top of the stretch, but The Calling had begun moving a little sooner and was able to hold off the late charge in the 8f contest.

Otto Haack was given close to 2 months off after the Breeders Bowl, but oahaack decided to try and sneak one more race in before the end of the year. The race was the 9f G2 Sanders Stakes at the same California track that the Breeders Bowl was run at. Unforunately, it seems that Otto could have used the rest of the year off. He took his typical route, but could only muster a 3 rd place finish, 2 lengths behind winner Dauntless(IRE), running one of his slowest times of the year.

But even those last couple of races could not take away what Otto Haack had accomplished in the year.  He finished the year with a 10: 5-3-1 record, with all 5 wins coming in Graded Stakes and 2 of those coming in Grade 1s. In addition, all 5 Graded Stakes wins set stakes records, and 3 of those also set track records. But his biggest accomplishment of all?

Setting the bar for future generations of turf milers to try and achieve.

Otto Haack .   Your 2009 Older Turf Horse of the Year.